Dramatis Lyricae
by indigo lafayette
Summary: This is a series of small stories, told briefly from the view of the characters from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. Enjoy :)
1. Nocturne

Nocturne ****

Dramatis Lyricae  
Part One: Nocturne  
By Indigo Lafayette

(*)

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Don't believe the life you have  
Will be the only one  
You have to let your body sleep  
To let your soul live on.

~~ Metallica, 'Sabbra Cadabra'

(*)

Something is dreadfully wrong. I feel it in my blood as I am awakened in the dead of night by dreams of the beast within the well. It has been awakened, somehow, someway. I feel the call of the spirits, those of the underworld, known to the Sheikah as the _Mwrana'Dhal_; The Ancestors who Watch. I feel them calling my name, calling out to beseech my service to inter the shadow beast once more.

Yet I know I cannot leave. Not with my ward, my duty still awaiting the time when she can return to her birthright and wrest it from the hands of that Gerudo bastard, Gannondorf. He has no right to claim Hyrule, nor does he have any right to the Triforce. True, though in the legends anyone can go after the Triforce if that one has the keys, but someone who gained access through treachery does not deserve the power of the goddesses.

I can tell that the Legend of the Split has come to pass. Gannondorf seeks power which he can add to his own, but he lacks wisdom, and certainly lacks courage. The elements within must be balanced in order to gain the True Force, to truly rule all in harmony with the spirits. The Splice has come to pass, because I see a wisdom in the Princess that I have rarely seen in people twice and thrice her age. Not that Zelda is not an intelligent girl; She has always been one with a good head upon her shoulders. However, she now sees insights into things that I rarely find unless I am focussed on the same thing for a longer period of time.

I can only hope that the boy who opened the Door of Time was indeed kept, as the legends say, within the Sacred Realm until which point he can wield the Master Sword as Hero of Time. These seven years have been a hard time on Princess Zelda, yet she has done admirably well posing as my daughter. She has learned the way of the Sheikah, and I am deeply proud of her. I would be equally proud if she truly were my flesh and blood.

With this running through my mind, I look in on the sleeping princess. She has become a fine woman, a true beauty. Her wiry frame is not at all unaesthetic, and she carries that frame with all the confidence and courage a Sheikah warrior would. She is more than a warrior….she is, in every way possible, the Queen she is destined to become. She has her destiny ahead of her, just as I have mine, and Link has his. As she sleeps, I understand this all to clearly.

My destiny lies within the inner reaches of the Shadow Temple. The spirits of that place are calling to me, stronger now, and I must heed them. I was told as a child that following the call of the spirits would give me the power to triumph over everything I was put up against, but ignoring them would make me weak enough to fall to the smallest of creatures. I have kept this edict in the front of my mind always, and I hope that I have imparted that important lesson to Zelda. As I leave our dwelling deep in the forests beyond Lake Hylia, I look up at the clear, star-filled skies. This is the night, I realize, that Zelda will decide she must leave as well. I understand this, just as I understand the call of the Temple.

Destiny has called, and I will not ignore it. To do so would be ludicrous, as well as impossible. Mounting my horse, I check if my provisions are adequate for the journey to Kakariko. They are, as I suspected. I feel the anxiety of leaving Zelda creep into my gut, but I ignore it; Zelda is quite capable of defending herself. I would not leave if I did not think otherwise.

As I ride off towards Lake Hylia, I pull up my veil, shadowing all but the upper portion of my face. The eyes of a Sheikah are red to warn of the danger we represent. The fear of the darkness is one that we use to our advantage, and seeing a pair of red eyes in the shadows is enough to make even the strongest of men question their prowess. It is by this use of people's natural wariness of the dark that we, the Sheikah, the People of Shadow, survive.

Where there is light, there is shadow….and I will guard the light of the world to the extent of my abilities.

(*)

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Hope you enjoyed! ~~Indigo


	2. Ballad of the Bell

Dramatis Lyricae

**Dramatis Lyricae****  
Part Two:Ballad of the Bell  
By Indigo Lafayette**  
  
(*)

  
She stares up at the stars when  
Stars fell from her hair then.  
I bent down to collect them  
And then she was gone.  
  
~~Dave Matthews Band, 'Sleep to Dream Her'  
  
(*)  
  
To hide one's face in a mask is to hope that one will not be recognized by one's peers.Somedays, that's the one thing anyone could want.On one of those days when the world seems to attack from all sides you at every turn, and things are simply refusing to go right…those are the days you wish you could just hide away somewhere and weep like a child.

That ismy situation at present.I spend every day in the stuffy, cramped back loft of the Curiosity Shop, waiting for the bell by the Laundry Pool to ring so that I may pick up the deliveries for Anthon, the shop's owner.I hide behind my Keaton mask, just as I hide behind my own face.

I used to think of myself as a strong man, one not hindered by the proud inhibitions of everyday Terminan life.I had a wonderful family, my mother and father running Clock Town, and my beautiful, sweet love, Anju, by my side.It took one chance encounter with that no-good mischief-monger Skull Kid to foul up every plan I had for my life.

Oh, how I wish I were able to tell her how I feel, how I am, and what has happened.I wish to allay her fears that I have run from her or that I have died…but I cannot bear to face the rejection I may have in store for me should I do so.I can't stand to see her face as she sees not Kafei, the man, sworn to her love by his mind, heart, and soul, but Kafei, the child, a mere shadow of what I once was.She couldn't possibly love me as I am now.I'm at a loss for things I could do to reveal myself to her, primarily because of my own childish fear.

I suppose I am like the moon…it is far away, but close enough to fall.It weeps firey tears that fall to earth in a shower of sorrow.I too am far away, yet so unbelievably close.I weep every night for the loss of my former self, and for my own pitiful state of affairs…and like the moon, I am powerless to halt my descent to the earth below.

Anju, my love!I see you by the pool, I see the hurt in your angelic face, and I can feel your heart breaking as surely as I do my own.I wish that I was there with you, as I was before, so that I could hold you close, to dry your tears and stroke your cheek to assure you that we would be together for all time….

……And how I wish that were even remotely possible.I will never see that day, for the moon draws itself closer to the world.When it falls, it will crush us all in its tragically lonely embrace, the fires singeing away everything we once knew and held dear.The fires of that fall could never hold a candle to the fury and the anguish that burns within me as I contemplate my remaining days without Anju by my side.

There were days that I wished to hide and weep like a child.However, I never wished to hide behind two masks…I never wished to weep like a man behind a child's countenance.

(*)

_God Bless,_

_Indigo_


	3. Lullaby

Dramatis Lyricae ****

Dramatis Lyricae  
Part Three: Lullaby  
By Indigo Lafayette

(*)**  
  
**_Suddenly  
Things become unsound  
Stumbling  
On the shaky ground  
Given arrows to shoot tornadoes down  
Shoot them down  
To the ground_   
  
~Barenaked Ladies, 'Hidden Sun'  
  
(*)

The Temple of Time is eerily silent as I stand waiting for Link. He has finally awakened the Six Sages, and the time has come for him to learn who Sheik really is. I have spent seven long years waiting for this moment….I can finally begin my quest to take Hyrule back from Gannondorf's malicious hands. Once shut away in the Sacred Realm, Gannondorf will never be able to threaten my people's safety ever again….and life can finally return to normal.

At least….life on this path can return to normal.

I know that, should Link, the Sages, and I succeed at banishing the Evil King, Link must be sent back to his original time. He has missed seven years of his life, years that would have been better had they been spent growing up. Though he is nearly eighteen to the world, inside he is a scared eleven-year-old boy who has been forced to accept responsibilities that an adult would have been terrified to accept. He is infinitely worthy to bear the mark of the Triforce of Courage; He is, indeed, Farore's Child.

I also understand, now that all this has come to pass, that I have tampered with power I barely understood as a child. I was naïve to think that I could prevent Gannondorf from obtaining the Triforce by myself. Using Link was, at the time, a good idea, but I had no idea that he would be locked away from the world for seven years. I feel responsible for robbing him of those years. I have made many mistakes, and in making those mistakes, I know I must see them through to fruition. I have no choice but to send Link home.

Another fear I cannot help but feeling is that Gannondorf may know what is going on. He may be waiting to strike, like a snake coiled to attack an unsuspecting mouse. I pray that we have the slightest advantage over him…but I know I must keep a clear mind. Wishful thinking, as Impa told me, can get someone killed. If only this were simple enough to achieve without threatening anymore lives. I would gladly stand in the position Link will have to be in soon, if I were the one chosen to be there. Alas, I have my part to play in destiny's play….and Link has his.

With this running through my mind, I hear the massive door to the Temple open. Link has come….and the moment of truth draws nigh. Taking cover in the shadows of this remaining bastion against the Evil King, I wait for Link to enter. He does, out of breath from his run. I take a few moments to study the man-child who is to save us all…I may not see the end of this travail. With a last, silent deep breath, I step out into the meager light of the Temple of Time. _Here goes nothing_, I think.

"I have been waiting for you, Hero of Time."

My voice echoes off the walls of the cathedral, and Link turns. He faces me as Sheik for the last time in this adventure. The time has come….and I will not look back.

(*)

****


End file.
